BuffyTheDane

Yesterday Buffy was scheduled for chest x-rays and then her 6^th and final chemo treatment. Whether more treatment would follow was dependent upon how she was doing. Unfortunately the x-rays weren’t good. I had been hoping that the chemo had kept the tumor they had found at her 3^rd treatment in check but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Not only has that tumor grown but others have appeared as well.

After talking to the oncologist I made the decision not to put her through the discomfort of the final chemo treatment. Now I’ll look at ways to boost her immune system through diet and concentrate on keeping her healthy and active for as long as possible.

I don’t know if we have weeks or months but as long as she is happy it doesn’t matter. At least we’ve had an extra 5 months so far with her that we wouldn’t have had if we had not made the decision to help her fight it.

She’s still eating well, going for walks and keeping Odin in line – so all still good. Every morning she gets up ready for a walk is the start of another day we’ve won.

Buffy on her 1km walk this morning. She is doing really well and had her 5th chemo treatment on Monday. On the 5th June she will celebrate her 4 month ampuversary.

Buffy had her 4th chemo treatment last Friday and she again did really well. She still amazes me with her willingness to co-operate. If you knew our neurotic girl seeing her just lay there with me as they put the catheter in and then put the drug through with saline would amaze you too.

The drug does seem to zap her energy for a few days afterwards which means her walks, which she still insists on, are shortened drastically. On Sunday I took her and Odin for a half hour joyride instead of a walk. Thought it would be good for her to have a fun change. She was so exhausted from all the excitement of going out, watching the world go by, having the wind in her face and sniffing all the smells out there that when we got home the poor baby was almost dragging her butt on the ground to get from the car to her bed for a nap.

Yesterday and today she was back to her 1k walk and enjoying every step of it.

Joyriding

Buffy had her 3rd chemo treatment today and it was also time for chest x-rays. On the positive side – she co-operated with them and they didn’t need to sedate her to do the x-rays. Yeah, no groggy sick girl. On the negative – they found a spot on her lung. It was always going to be a very long shot that none of the evil little cells hitched a ride in her system.

We’re seeing the chemo through though in the hope it will buy her some comfort time and hey, maybe a miracle. There’s always a rainbow after a storm right? She is a feisty girl. I wasn’t allowed to stay with her today because of the x-rays and got back to pick her up just before they had finished her treatment and took the pic through the door. She was such a good girl for them.

Buffy had her 2nd chemo treatment Friday 22^nd. She was a very good girl, didn’t need sedation and lay quietly on the ground with me whilst the chemo was administered.

She cried a couple of times that afternoon when we were back home but I think that was just to check she still had the power to make me come running. She has not been off her food and has continued her daily walks. All looks good.

As I have mentioned before Buffy is being treated at the University of Adelaide’s Animal and Veterinary Sciences Veterinary Health Centre (phew, what a mouthful) which is out at Roseworthy. The Uni year started in March so Buffy has different students each time she goes who help with the treatments. New people taking her temp, listening to her heartbeat, taking her pulse, checking her gums, etc., (basically giving her a full once-over), asking me how she’s been since her last visit and then giving the full report to the oncologist before her treatment starts. Then under the watchful eye of the oncologist they administer the treatment.

Buffy hasn’t been fazed by any of it and as long as I am with her she stays relatively calm.

Our next visit is going to be a tough one. Prior to her treatment she needs to have a chest x-ray to check her lungs are still clear and the cancer hasn’t metastasised. This does mean I can’t stay with her and they will need to sedate her. It’s tough watching her trying to get around when she is ‘out of it’ and, as I’ve found out the hard way, it’s harder to assist a 3 legged dog than it is a 4 when they are wobbling around trying to go to the toilet or get a drink. However, if that’s the worst part of our day (meaning no metastasis) I’ll be over the moon.

Buffy after her treatment

Buffy now has a boot that fits to help protect the nails on her back foot.

Buffy was meant to have her second chemo treatment last Friday the 15^th March but she was running a bit of a temperature so the oncologist decided to delay by a week. They had already given her a sedative to try and ease her anxiety (she can work herself up into a real state) and that really knocked her about later in the day when she got sicker.

Buffy has occasional ‘attacks’ that nobody, not even after exploratory surgery a few years ago, can identify. She generally starts walking hunched and then ends up moaning in obvious discomfort and / or pain. Her extremities (feet, ears) go very cold as her blood rushes to internal organs in what I’m assuming is an attempt to fight off whatever it is. She goes off her food and also starts making the same sounds a person would who is trying to clear their throat, it’s not a cough. There have been times when she has actually spat out what appears to be phlegm but tests of that haven’t given any clues.

The first ‘attack’ which happened about 3 years ago was the worst and had me rushing her to the vet. Each subsequent one has been less severe but we’re still in the dark as to what causes it. On a positive note, antibiotics seem to clear the problem up for a while at least. Of course too many antibiotics and we run the risk of her system becoming immune to them.

Anyway, I never noticed her hunching probably because of how she hops now but did notice, too late, she was hopping with difficulty. So back on a course of antibiotics.

As of today she hasn’t had anything to eat, which is normal when she is like this, but hopefully tonight or at the latest tomorrow she will be back to eating and feeling a lot better.

All going well her next treatment will be on the Friday 22^nd.

22/2/13

Today was a day I had been looking forward to, another milestone and a day to hopefully kick the crap out of any cancer cells that may be lurking, but also a day I’d been dreading, one where her body is pumped full of toxins.

The plan the oncologist has drawn up for Buffy consists of 6 treatments of carboplatin with a chest x-ray before the 3^rd and 5^th treatments. Buffy will also have a blood test before each treatment to check her blood count. Carboplatin affects the bone marrow’s ability to produce blood cells and platelets. Whilst a small drop in the count is expected a large drop can mean other issues will arise like infection which then causes more problems that Buffy’s body may not be able to deal with.

Common side effects with Carboplatin are loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and possible diarrhea but they are less severe than other treatments. Poor Buffy’s not going to be able to make a move outside without me hovering to see if one of these nasties has her in their grips.

I found a free PDF on-line called Caring For Your Dog With Carboplatin Chemotherapy which might be of interest to anyone contemplating or facing this treatment. The link (which will bring up a dialogue box at the bottom of your screen allows you to open the PDF or save it) is – www.animalhospitalofantioch.com/refId,22733/refDownload.pml.

It’s very early days yet but Buffy has eaten lunch (2 chicken breasts) and is currently napping in one of her weird positions.